Duck Rabbit, Olde Hickory, and Foothills each contribute the wort from their signature imperial stouts. The combined brew is then aged in 23-year old Pappy Van Winkle barrels with honey and cocoa nibs.

A long time want generously tracked down and sent over by jbeatty. Thanks man! Been happy with Foothills and Olde Hickory up to this point, so got high hopes for this one.

From a bomber into a snifterVintage: 2012Stout brewed with honey, cocoa nibs and aged in Kentucky bourbon barrels

APPEARANCE: A black pour yields a 1+ finger, medium looking, dark tan head with good retention. Black body with slightly higher levels of carbonation evident. Head slowly fades to a full wisp. A splotchy wisp and ring remain until the end leaving some dots of lacing down the glass. Pretty decent looking.

SMELL: Big bourbon nose with oak, vanilla, sweet cream, milk chocolate, as well as some dark, pure chocolate there too. A hint or roasted barley as a base, with some caramel and coconut as well. This is really nice and enticing.

TASTE: Doesn't quite meausre up. Caramel and bourbon notes up front, but unfortunately comes off a little watery initially. Lots of booze at the swallow, with oak flavors, bourbon again, vanilla and coconut lingering on the palate. Hints of dark chocolate with the bourbon barrel as well. Flavor shows potential, but it comes across somewhat watery, as the palate is below par for sure.

PALATE: Thinner body and medium levels of carbonation. Lighter on the palate, definitely watery, not creamy at all, goes down easy and finishes slighty dry on the palate. Watery and missing body for sure. Not creamy enough and doesn't suppor the flavors, though it still isn't off-putting.

OVERALL: The nose on this was really nice and the flavors showed a lot of potential, but the feel was so thin and watey that it couldn't support the flavors and make it the beer it deserved to be. Started so well, but finished so poorly. I don't know if anyone's to blame for this, but given my experiences with these breweries, I'm afriad I'd have to give Foothill's and Hickory the benifit of the doubt. Worth checking out and I definitely enjoyed it, but not something I'd be after again unless the feel is greatly improved. Cheers jbeatty. Always good times.